All's Fair in Love and War
by Clovis15
Summary: A breif snippet of life occuring after the end of the show; even if Meryl has feelings for Vash, she may very well kill him before they can come to fruition. This was part of a larger story project I never finished, but I felt this part worked by itself.


A sweet aroma filled the small kitchen in the apartment where Meryl Strife had been spending the majority of the day cooking. Cooking wasn't something she did often; but when she did, she liked to do it right. Tonight's dinner was going to be perfect, it had been a long time since she'd had a perfect dinner. Both her and Milly had been able to have nothing but quick meals on the go ever since they had started following Vash the Stampede at the request of the Bernardelli insurance society.  
  
However, with the Gung Ho Guns no longer a threat, and Knives under control, it was at long last a time to relax. Okay, so maybe under control was too strong a term for Knives; but that didn't change the fact that things were definitely far more peaceful for a change. And with a moment of peace came the chance to celebrate. Celebrations were another thing that Meryl and Milly hadn't done for quite some time.  
  
However, now was not quite going to be the perfect time for Celebrations, oh no siree. For you see, Vash is about to walk into the apartment and be his usual self. That will almost assuredly nine times of ten mean bad things. But then again, bad things are actually quite normal in the life of Vash the Stampede. He should be used to them by now. Of course, the bad thing that is going to happen today is one that he was completely not expecting at all.  
  
Vash's long red coat trailed behind him slightly as he entered the apartment. Under one arm was a box that had previously been home to 30 glazed donuts. This box was no longer the home to 29 of those donuts; Vash's stomach was now their home. "I'm back, did anyone miss me?"  
  
Getting no response, Vash continued to move through the apartment until his nose quickly latched onto a delectable aroma. Following this smell he soon found himself in the kitchen where Meryl was putting on the finishing touches to the main course of the meal that she had put many diligent hours into the preparation of. As Meryl turned around to face Vash, he removed the last donut from the box and rammed it, for a lack of a better term, into his mouth.  
  
Meryl was going to tell Vash that he couldn't see tonight's dinner until it was ready, but didn't when she saw that Vash's mouth was full. She then looked down to the empty box of donuts that Vash was carrying. The bastard, after all she had done to prepare this great meal, he had the nerve the fill himself on donuts.  
  
Vash, noticing that Meryl was looking vilely towards the empty box of donuts, realized he should say something. Swallowing down the remains of the last donut he began, "I got really hungry on the way back and saw a bakery, their donuts are really good. Boy am I stuffed now, I mean they were really good. I could eat these anytime." Naturally, this was the wrong something. Of course, saying the wrong something was one of Vash's best skills; he often put it to use at the worst possible times.  
  
This was not fair, she had gone out of her way to prepare a nice meal, and he had gorged himself on a box of donuts. Something inside Meryl's head snapped and tossed logic and good reason out the window as it shattered. At about the same time a decidedly evil grin fell upon Meryl's face to accompany her already twitching eye and shaking hands. Vash's ability to analyze a dangerous situation when it occurs kicked in, but it was already too late. 'Love & Peace' wasn't going to settle this one; no, it was going to be very brutal. "Meryl, please stop staring at me like that. Meryl, what do you think you're going to do with that frying pan? Meryl -"  
  
Milly was currently standing in the hall outside the apartment. She had just gotten back from the errand Meryl had sent her on. It had been her job to pick up dessert. She had bought a cake from the same bakery that had made the donuts that had sealed Vash's fate. In fact, she had crossed paths with Vash on her way to the bakery; at the time he was on his way back to the apartment and the donut box had been more than half full.  
  
Milly reached forward to open the door to the apartment, but her hand never got to grasp the door knob. Before she could grab it, the door swung open and Vash came barreling out of the apartment past her. Before Vash was safely out of the line of sight available to the doorway, a frying pan came flying from the opening and came up to his head to greet it. The hello the frying pan gave him was a resounding clanging sound, and it sent Vash stumbling to the floor. However, knowing that he could not stop, Vash quickly got back to his feet and began running again. The end of his long red coat was fluttering behind him in the wind of his own departure; blissfully unaware of the trouble its owner was in.  
  
The second person to come bolting out of the apartment and run past Milly, without so much as even saying hello, was Meryl. Upon her face there was still a gleam of murderous intent. At the moment she was currently holding a cooking pot's handle with both hands. She held the cooking pot over her head as a knight of the medieval ages might've hefted a mighty war axe as he prepared to charge into a battle fray, "Vash the Stampede, get back here, I'm not done with you! You never appreciate any of the hell I put up with!"  
  
Milly sighed as she sat down the cake box so that she could properly give chase, someone was going to have separate them again, "Meryl, wait!" 


End file.
